Syrian forces enter border city, detain dozens

[News_Editor]

Syrian forces enter border city, detain dozens

2011-07-18 02:32:20 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAMASCUS (BNO NEWS) -- Syrian forces on Sunday surrounded a town near the Lebanese border and detained dozens of people, residents said.

CNN reported that tanks rumbled in before dawn into Zabadani, about 25 miles (40.23 km) north of Damascus, where residents have been calling for the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad since anti-government protests began four months ago. One resident, who did not want his name used for fear of reprisal, said troops rounded up people indiscriminately and set up checkpoints around the city.

Another resident, who also confirmed the detentions, said phone services and electricity to the city were cut off.

On Saturday, hundreds of exiled Syrian activists elected a 25-member council in Turkey as they sought to declare unity in their intention to oust Assad. The National Salvation Council, composed of independents, liberals, Islamists and members of other parties, will serve as an umbrella organization representing various factions of the Syrian opposition.

About 350 opposition members attended the Syrian National Salvation conference, which took place as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed support for the opposition while visiting Istanbul for meetings with Turkish officials.

"What's happening in Syria is very uncertain and troubling, because many of us had hoped that President Assad would make the reforms that were necessary without seeing what we're now seeing in the streets of Syria, which are government tanks and soldiers shooting peaceful demonstrators," Clinton said, as quoted by CNN.

"There must be a legitimate, sincere effort with the opposition to try to make changes," she said. "I don't know whether that will happen or not."

A similar opposition meeting was to have taken place in Damascus but it was canceled after violence erupted on Friday. At least 21 civilians and one soldier were killed during Friday's nationwide protests. However, some media reports put the death toll at 41.

Rami Abelrahman, director of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said sixteen people were killed in Damascus and its suburbs, one in Homs, three in Idlib and one in Daraa. As of Friday, the death toll for civilians since the unrest began rose to 1,440, with an additional 353 deaths among army and security personnel, Abelrahman said.

The activist group Local Coordination Committees in Syria said that at least one person was killed on Saturday when Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters in the eastern town of Albu Kamal. State television, however, reported that one policeman was killed and a number of guards injured after "armed groups" attacked a police station, a mayor's home and other government sites in Albu Kamal.

In mid-March, pro-democracy demonstrations began in Syria and have continued across the country, which has been ruled by the Baath Party since 1963. Protesters are demanding the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, who took over his father in 2000.

Assad previously said that the recent events in the country are a conspiracy against national unity. The Syrian government has repeatedly claimed that the violent acts have been instigated by terrorists who use military uniforms and weaponry to pose as soldiers while attacking citizens.

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